The Gentlemen
Once the second-biggest slaver organisation in the Detroit Wasteland, The Gentlemen were a group of raiders with pretensions of appearing to be civilised and not utter garbage. All of their good manners and superb dress sense proved to be of little value when the group was destroyed in a rapidly escalating three-way conflict that, ironically, they were suckered in too. History While they had been slowly losing ground to the newer slaver gangs, it was a pair of events that occurred in 2281 that accelerated the Gentlemen’s decline. For many years, their strongest allies had been the Twisted Cross, a slaver gang that worked out of the Detroit House of Correction in the city’s western side. The two gangs had traded back and forth, with the Twisted Cross becoming their preferred supplier of slaves. While many within the Gentlemen saw the Twisted Cross as being degenerate savages (and having terrible dress sense), the fact that they only allowed men into their ranks did earn the gang some respect. However, in May of 2281, the Twisted Cross were destroyed by another gang, the Metal Bitches, who infiltrated their headquarters and crushed them from within. The Gentlemen quickly discovered that the Metal Bitches were not slavers; in fact, despite being raiders, they were actually opposed to slaving themselves. This meant that the Gentlemen had suddenly lost their biggest ally and supplier at a time when other gangs were beginning to move in on them. In order to reverse this decline and regain what they had lost (as well as to send a message to their would-be rivals), the Gentlemen decided to deal with the Metal Bitches directly. Many felt that defeating them would be easy, as the Metal Bitches was composed entirely of women, and thus were inferior in their eyes. Any concerns that this gang had already defeated the Twisted Cross were quietly dismissed, or put down to luck or their having surprise on their side. Instead, their attack was an utter disaster. The Gentlemen lost a number of their men who were either killed or captured, and gained next to nothing from it. Humiliated, they were forced to retreat and lick their wounds, now even more wary of the other slaver gangs taking advantage of their diminished situation. To add insult to injury, the captured members of the gang were forced to fight each other to the death for the Metal Bitches’ amusement. Realising the depth of their mistake, the Gentlemen chose not to pursue the matter further, instead focusing their energies on the more immediate threats rising in their own backyard. By early 2287, the Gentlemen had been suffering from a rash of exceptionally well-targeted and coordinated attacks that were aimed at their operations. These were costing them heavily, causing them to fall even further behind their competitors. Their overly selective membership meant that they were not able to match the flexibility and diverse skillset of the Shackles, nor the unmitigated raw aggression of the War Bears, seeing them reduced to a rather miserable third place. Now they were fighting fires while those at their upper ranks began to suspect that one of the other Slaver outfits was trying to directly sabotage them. The subsequent direct confrontation between the Shackles and War Bears seemed to serve them well, with the two groups seemingly intent on wiping each other out. At first, Hugh Janus was content to let them do such, confident that he would be able to pick up the slack from their lost business. Instead he found that his own assets remained under attack, even though the other two gangs were well and truly engaged with each other. This lead him to the conclusion that the three of them were being manipulated against each other into a conflict by an unknown third (well, fourth) party. Most likely, he surmised, they were looking to enter the slaving business themselves and wanted to get rid of the competition. Janus sent a message to the War Bears, requesting a meeting. They agreed, with him and Man Beast coming face to face in an open intersection that was as close to neutral ground as possible. Janus began his explanation of what he thought was going on, but was cut short (quite literally) as Man Beast interrupted the discussion by snapping his neck. Within moments, the other War Bears assembled charged on the gathered Gentlemen, cutting them down. Despite having suddenly lost their leader and a good chunk of their men, the remaining Gentlemen were incensed at this unfair behaviour (That they ambushed and kidnapped innocent people all the time seemed to have been lost on them) and instead drove headlong into a war on both the Shackles and the War Bears. As the violence between the three intensified, the Gentlemen were forced to abandon slaving operations in order to focus on fighting what was quickly becoming a war for survival. New slaves were not being captured, but the existing ‘stock’ was not being moved either, leaving a mass of captives cramped up inside their hotel headquarters. By June of 2287, the Gentlemen had been pushed back to a small zone of control around their hotel. Their numbers had been thinned out by constant attacks, leaving them barely clinging on to existence. Harvey Fontaine, their current leader, knew that there was too much bad blood to ever make a compromise deal with either the War Bears or the Shackles. Instead, they went to ground, hoping that the two larger remaining gangs would focus on taking each other out and leave them be. Instead, the demise of the Gentlemen came at the hands of their own victims. The slaves kept within the hotel became aware of just how bad the gang’s situation had become, and revolted against their former tormentors. In a bloody revolution, the remaining Gentlemen were killed with the now freed Slaves taking control of their former headquarters for themselves. Fortifying their new headquarters and expecting the worst, the new owners found themselves approached by merchants who were willing to trade with them. And so, the last of the Gentlemen’s wealth was traded away in exchange for weapons and supplies. Description At their most basic level, the Gentlemen are a raider gang that focuses on the capture and then sale of slaves. However, this basic summary does not quite cover the particular approach that the gentlemen take to their image and the way that they see themselves. The gang never identifies themselves as such; rather, they describe themselves as ‘entrepreneurs’ who engage in ‘business dealings’ with others. That they trade in human lives never once is mentioned, rather they deal in ‘goods’ and ‘assets’ that they ‘acquire’ through ‘actions’. The Gentlemen hold themselves as being islands of refinement, decorum and good taste in a sea of degeneracy. They hold themselves as being above the rest of the Detroit Wastelands on the grounds of their supposed culture. While they do hold everyone else in contempt, be they civilised settlements, raiders, the Army of Revolution, Super Mutants or whoever else (And besides, Super Mutants eat people, which is a shocking waste of a potential slave. And they don’t even have the decency to serve them with a good wine). Of course, in their dealings with their clients, the Gentlemen are always careful to mask their contempt and feign politeness in order to make a sale. All of this is just a front, an air of sophistication that they put on to cover up just how actively repulsive they are. Deep down, the Gentlemen are no better than any other slaver gang, but by pretending to be what they are not, they can at least attempt to hide it. In many ways, these pretentions were costing them over time; they were not able to keep up with the far more flexible Shackles or the more brutal and unrefined War Bears, and instead had fallen behind both gangs. Nor did it help them any during the Slavers war, when they were gutted by a series of bloody battles and then finally finished off by a slave rebellion. Membership There are two things that a potential member of the Gentlemen must have before they can be accepted into the group. The first is that they must be male; the gang claims linage from “pre-war gentlemen’s clubs” that had strict membership rules forbidding women from joining (And by process of elimination, Super Mutants are also out). The second is that a potential member must display the proper degrees of decorum, taste and refinement as to be a proper gentlemen. Which really mans that they must wear a nice suit, have good taste in liquor, refrain from use of chems, have good manners and so on (Which again, would rule out most Super Mutants). Of course, this is a façade, and the members of the Gentlemen were as brutal, cruel, petty, vindictive and malicious (and chem-ridden) as any other raider gang. The only difference is that they made pretentions for the sake of not only looking good for their potential buyers, but also for trying to convince themselves that they were somehow ‘better’ then the rest of the filth. By pretending to be nice, they try to cover up their own inadequacies. On the other hand, rampant alcoholism permeates the gang at every level, a side effect of their culture of faux sophistication. Despite their gender biases, the Gentlemen have no restrictions against Ghouls joining, so long as they can show the proper decorum and taste. Several pre-war Ghouls were among the gang’s founders, and were influential on its overall culture. As long as they dress well and understand the value of a good Claret, the Gentlemen as a whole are more than willing to forgive them for their lack of skin. Locations The Gentlemen’s former headquarters was in the ruins of a once-grand hotel on the eastern side of the Detroit Downtown district. While the building is clearly dilapidated and in poor condition, as a part of their efforts of pretending that they are civilised and not completely horrible the Gentlemen have done their utmost to restore some of its finery and amenities. The result is that parts of the building project a degree of refinement and sophistication that belies the fact that the rest of it is a radroach-filled hellhole. The areas used by the gentlemen are usually well kept, well maintained and passably clean by post-apocalyptic standards. Not only do these include some of the hotel’s best suites, but they also include a dining room, conference room and bar. When they are not out slaving, the Gentlemen would often be found relaxing in these venues, coagulating themselves over being so witty and sophisticated. Guests (such as prospective buyers) would be accommodated in the finest guest rooms, as much to win them over as for the Gentlemen to show off their wealth and supposed refinement. Of course, under this veneer was a thick sludge of ugliness; the hotel staff were all slaves who had been dressed up and cleaned up for the sake of looks, while the grand ballroom was used for slave auctions. The actual slave quarters were often filthy, run-down and crowded, with little in the way of amenities or comforts. Following the downfall of the Gentlemen, the building was taken over by the now freed slaves. Their first act was to redecorate it by placing the heads of their former tormenters on pool cues over the entrance. Equipment The Gentlemen pride themselves on being men of class and refinement, and nowhere is that more evident than their attire. They prefer to dress in ‘sophisticated’ wear, with pre-war suits, ties, tuxedoes and even smoking jackets considered to be the norm among their ranks. This sort of apparel is considered to be a uniform as such, and going out dressed in anything less is considered to be unacceptable. Those who are cast out of the Gentlemen for whatever reason are first stripped of their attire before meeting their fate. While not as obvious as their suits, the Gentlemen take great pride in their weapons. Using Pipe Guns or other such makeshift firearms is considered to be unacceptable and a breach of proper decorum; after all, such weapons are for poor people. When the Gentlemen take to the field, they will usually be armed with pre-war weapons which are immaculately looked after. Those with ‘tasteful’ decorations, such as pearl handles or engraved details, are particularly sought after as status symbols. Playing pool is a big part of the Gentlemen’s culture. However, no member of the group would have been so as gauche to use a pool cue as a weapon. Notable Members Hugh Janus The leader of the gentlemen at the start of 2287, Hugh Janus presented the image of a cultured, refined gentleman of wealth and taste. Which was all an elaborate way of covering up his origins as being the offspring of Arsetown bums. He managed to work his way into the Gentlemen by impressing them with a decent suit (stolen from a funeral home) and some good quality vintage wine, in essence creating the image of the man that he wanted to be. Hugh worked his way up through the ranks through a combination of good taste, impeccable dress sense, wonderful manners, utter ruthlessness and being a completely horrible human being. He enjoyed lording over his victims, talking at length about how he was better than them at all times. He could just as easily order an execution as he would a second glass, and had been known to do both in quick succession. His sense of superiority also proved to be his undoing. In his efforts to prove that he was superior to all those around him, Hugh tried to step in to end the growing conflict between his group, the Shackles and the War Bears. At his first meeting with Man Beast, the Raider Leader didn’t listen to a thing he said and instead snapped his neck without a word. Harvey Fontaine The second in command under Janus, Harvey was very much representative of the Gentlemen as a whole. Having started out in a raider gang, he raised himself up by selling the rest of them to the Gentlemen and the bribing his way in with their stash of caps and a nice suit. From there, he continued to display a sadistic streak a mile wide, taking pleasure in beating slaves for even the slightest perceived infractions. All the while, he played at the part of a sophisticated gentleman, pretending to be charming and witty in the gang’s club. He was a notorious poolshark, well respected among his fellows for seemingly never losing a match. Of course, he had been defeated several times, however, those that did manage to beat him often found themselves having unexpected ‘accidents’ that left them severely injured. Fontaine took control of the gang after Janus’ death, but his reign was short lived. With casualties mounting and their territories under siege, he was unable to maintain control of the slaves he had cruelly lorded over for so long. Following the uprising within the Gentlemen’s hotel, his body was found bent over one of the tables, a cue ball in his mouth and a pool cue inserted into the other end. Quotes By Category:Raiders Category:Slavers Category:Groups Category:Michigan Category:Defunct